English Instructor Allison Smith Receives Doctoral Fellowship

English instructor Allison Smith of Russell County,
Ky., has been awarded a doctoral fellowship from the Appalachian
College Association for the 2009-10 academic year.

English instructor Allison Smith of Russell County,
Ky., has been awarded a doctoral fellowship from the Appalachian
College Association for the 2009-10 academic year.

COLUMBIA, Ky. -Allison Smith will have an exciting 2009-10
school year. The Lindsey Wilson College English instructor has been
awarded a doctoral fellowship from the Appalachian College
Association for the 2009-10 academic year.

"It means a lot to have one's research validated with a
fellowship," said Smith, who recently served as coordinator of
LWC's writing center. "Having the support of the ACA and Lindsey
Wilson College makes the process more gratifying and allows me to
solely focus on my scholarship."

Smith, a doctoral candidate at University of Louisville in
rhetoric and composition, was chosen from a competitive field of
applicants by a review committee of graduate school deans from the
ACA's affiliated research universities - universities of Kentucky,
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tennessee-Knoxville and Virginia;
West Virginia University; and Virginia Tech University.

The $30,000 fellowship allows Smith to take a year off from
teaching and administrative responsibilities to research and write
her doctoral dissertation. Smith's research is about the reciprocal
effects of writing centers on basic writers.

After she finishes her dissertation, Smith will be awarded a
Ph.D. and then return to Lindsey Wilson to join the English faculty
as a full-time assistant professor of English.

Smith said she is elated that she will get to continue at
Lindsey Wilson after she finishes her graduate work.

"While I've enjoyed working on my Ph.D., I look forward to
completing my degree," said Smith, a Russell County High School
graduate and resident of Russell County, Ky. "I'm excited to
continue my work with student writers at Lindsey Wilson
College."

The ACA includes 37 private liberal arts colleges in Kentucky,
North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Its goal is
to promote education, ideas, services and collegiality among the
institutions that serve the people of Appalachia.